Beyond the Edge: Australia's First National Peri-urban Conference La Trobe University Oct 2013

1. On Scale and Abundance
re Watering Peri-urban landscapes
Peter Stevens Prof. Tim Roberts Dr Steven Lucas

2. Most arid continent

3. Watery planet

4. Experimenting with nature

5. Water,, soil and ecosystem security?

6. Great Civilisations have passed away
Sir Albert Howard

7. Honeymoon is over for ‘man over nature’
Mary E White

8. Response
Seamless ecology-based design

9. aligned with landscape

11. laws of the biosphere

12. plants and bacteria

13. biocapacity

14. land use patterns
Dendritic
Peri-Urban

15. Dendritic
Rural

16. drying landscapes

19. trends
Global Village % Populution
150%
100%
50%
0%
1910
2013
2050
2300
70% of greenhouse gases
2% of land cover.
Lowering carbon footprint vital

20. Atmospheric CO2 (> 400 p.p.m = Pliocene)

22. Anthropocentric ?

23. Monoculture vs. ecosystem

24. Desert making

31. Choices

32. Extracentric

34. Topocentric

35. Engineering centred
P.A.Yeomans’– Keyline / H.E.R.D. 1956

36. Biocentric
Andrews – Natural sequence 1975

37. irrigated dry land
natural sequence

38. Mollison-a Permanent agriculture 1978

39. Ecocentric
Stevens -UoN Australia 1990-96

43. watered landscapes
Holzer-Austria 2004 Kravcik-Slovakia 2007

45. Survival landscapes

48. Tsum Communities - Nepal

49. a sense of permanence

51. periodic abundance

53. of complexity and resilience

54. through energy and water

55. Water is the driving force of all nature
Da Vinci

56. Biophilia

57. a biological narrative

61. patterns of abundance

62. on any scale

90. Newcastle Australia
EcoCity / UniverCity

91. Mt Penny
Rich river delta
International wetlands

92. Ancient soil
Fragile ecosystems
Diverse, refined biota

93. Largest coal port 2013

94. Landscape integrity 2300 ?

95. 1989

96. 1989

97. 1989

98. 1989

99. 1989

100. A fundamental change in thinking
1992

102. to rewater the landscape

113. 1993

116. 1996

119. for amenity and comfort

120. 2002

123. secure deep fertile soil

124. restore ecosystem complexity

127. recover the biota and the land

130. 2002

131. 2002

134. edenow

135. Guiding principles

136. Soil is the earth’s capital

139. Our yeoman service is to render fungous bridges
between humus/ plants.

142. A new human environment model

143. with food as part of habitat

144. and a bio-stewardship culture

145. An ecology-based design ethos

146. based on scales, feathers and ferns

147. in a watered landscape

148. Growth forms and detail

154. living with bushfire
biochar

160. implications at a human scale

165. implications at a landscape scale
Biotic ‘Recharge’ systems

167. re-aligning landuse with nature’s pattern book

168. to scale, and in patterns of abundance

169. Water retention nodes
all Keypoints in the landscape

170. ‘On’ and ‘near’ contour
multi-functional conduits

171. Deep infiltration , carbon rich soils

172. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges

173. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates

174. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace ‘discharge’ systems with ‘recharge’ systems

175. • Vegetation and water nodes-all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace ‘discharge’ systems with ‘recharge’ systems
• Use biological and ecological processes to ensure water and soil
security, landscape and ecological integrity, and amenity

176. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace discharge systems with recharge systems
• Biological and ecological processes to ensure water and soil
security, landscape and ecological integrity, and amenity
• Every element- multiple biological and ecological functions

177. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace discharge systems with recharge systems
• Biological and ecological processes to ensure water and soil
security, landscape and ecological integrity, create human scale
space and amenity
• Every element - multiple biological and ecological functions
• Elevate infrastructure to enable ecological functions across
contour, tenure and landuse

178. • Vegetation and water infiltration nodes at all keypoints and on
all secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace discharge systems with recharge systems
• Biological and ecological processes to ensure water and soil
security, landscape and ecological integrity, create human
scale space and amenity
• Every element multiple biological and ecological functions
• Elevate infrastructure to enable ecological functions across
contour, tenure and landuse
• Establish cities and towns as ‘forest’ rather than ‘desert’
ecosystems

179. Conventional urban settlement outcomes

180. Remnant bushland perceived risk
Primary Ridge

181. Subsidence risk
Primary Ridge

182. Earthquake 1989
Primary Ridge

183. Inundation risk
Eucalypt bushland
Tectonic events 1989
Subsidence potential
Primary Ridge

184. Disaster OR Ecotown in the making ?
Bio / Ecological abundance ?

186. Biophilic / Ecotowns
Bushland Campus
Regional
Hospital
Developing City
Conservation area
Newcastle Hill

187. Bushland Campus
Regional
Hospital
High value topography >60m ASL
Biophilic / Ecotown capacity
Developing City
Conservation area
Newcastle Hill

188. Bushland Campus
Regional
Hospital
Watered landscapes
High anthropocentric biocapacity
Developing City
Conservation area
Newcastle Hill

189. Bushland Campus
Regional
Hospital
Anthropocentric
biocapacity
Developing City
High Ecocentric biocapacity
Conservation area
Newcastle Hill

190. High value ecologically productive landscapes
High value / potential for >70% vegetation cover
High value topography and orientation >60m ASL
High value long term biophilic city /town potential

191. Conventional peri-urban landuse
Kate Flint, author

192. Primary Ridge
Remnant bushland ‘perceived risk’

193. Primary Ridge
‘ Developable’ landscape
Currently low Anthropocentric biocapacity

194. Primary Ridge
Currently low value Ecocentric biocapacity

195. Primary Ridge
Current low value ad hoc biocapacity

197. Landuse aligned with biocapacity
Forest like Bio/ Ecotown models
>70% vegetation cover
Ecologically productive landscapes

198. Biophilic / EcoCity modelling

199. Primary Ridge
High value watered landscapes
High Anthropocentric biocapacity

200. Primary Ridge
Watered landscapes,
High value Ecocentric biocapacity

201. Ecologically Engineered
High value watered landscapes
High Anthropocentric biocapacity

202. Ecologically Engineered
Watered landscapes,
High value Ecocentric biocapacity

203. Biologically developed
High value watered landscapes
High Anthropocentric biocapacity

204. Biologically developed
Watered landscapes,
High value Ecocentric biocapacity

206. • Vegetation and water nodes- all keypoints and secondary ridges
• Seamless flow of all design elements so that the landform and
natural aesthetic dominates
• Replace discharge systems with recharge systems
• Biological and ecological processes to ensure water and soil
security, landscape and ecological integrity, and amenity
• Every element- multiple biological and ecological functions
• Elevate infrastructure to enable ecological functions across tenure
and landuse
• Establish cities and towns as forest ecosystems rather than desert
ecosystems
• Connect peri-urban landscapes at ‘root, branch and canopy level
to secure energy and water

217. Peter Stevens
peter.stevens@newcastle.edu.au
+61 431 333 337
Tom Farrell Institute
University of Newcastle,
Australia
Prof. Timothy Roberts
Dr Steven Lucas